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Whoa !  This topic makes me glad I'm not studying psychology!  Prof. Iver's lecture on how people judge their own success and failures and others success and failures was pretty clear. A person who attributes successes/failures internally assumes all the credit/blame goes to themselves.  A person who attributes successes/failures externally assumes all the credit/blame goes to others. It is common in the USA for people to attribute success internally ("I did it") and failures externally ("Someone else stole my idea").  Thus far, it's pretty clear.  Then we throw in stable vs. unstable and it becomes like a math problem gone all exponential on us ... Here is a Very Simple example: Suppose a runner wins a race.  A person who attributes successes internally-stable  might say "I am talented." A person who attributes successes internally-unstable might say "I worked out really hard this season." A person who attributes successes ext...

For this part of our lesson, we learned about a variety of personal space needs from around the world.  Professor Ivers of BYUI, in his lecture, mentioned how 'personal' the personal items of Americans are.  In other places, it would be a non-issue if one roommate used another's Iron and ironing board, but in the US, it is expected to ask permission first. One of my sisters' taught ESL in Spain for a few years, traveling to other European locations on school holidays.  She became accustomed to the European "quiet" talking.  Upon returning to the USA, my sister was often asked to speak louder, since Americans are accustomed to loud speaking.  This lesson, and my sister's experience, moves me to speculate that some of the "rude American" label that we from the US have in other places may simply be the cultural differences in our speech volume.  (I hope that is all it is!)  For classroom purposes, it would help to know a students home culture....

 As part of our cultural differences section, this week part of our lesson delves into the differences between an individual mindset (found in the USA) and a collective mindset ( found in 3/4 of the world, particularly in Asia and Latin America.)   Professor Ivers, of BYU-I, lectured us on this topic, using the common Japanese saying "The nail that sticks up, gets hammered down." In a collective oriented mindset, this is a reminder/warning to not be different from the group. In the USA, youth are expected to think for themselves, be self-motivated and to learn to be independent adults.  Both mindsets are valid and offer positives as well as negatives.  This blog will  explore how an American teacher of ESL students from a collective-type country might successfully help their student integrate into the American-individual mindset.  On the surface, it would seem that the student is the only concern, but no one lives in a vacuum, and it will help the ...

This week continues our section on cultural differences.  Our first topic concerns 'Emotional Expressivity.'  Professor Ivers lectured at BYU-I on this topic (circa 2015), which covers the way various cultures express emotion in public.  On the low end would be Asian and Scandanavian countries: They tend to show less emotion in public.  On the high end would be Hispanic and Middle Eastern countries, who tend to easily  and often express emotion in public. Even within countries, such as the USA, there can be considerable differences from one area of the country to another.  Ivers specifically mentions differences between the Northeast (more expressed emotion) and the South (less expressed emotion.)  Since Iver's class is set in Idaho, USA,  he threw in some Intermountain Mormon as well, which he considered on the less emotional expressivity end.  I discussed some  provincial differences in my blog post of 5/21/2019. I mentioned my own...

Our third focus this week is on Cultural Miscommunication.  Prof. Ivers, of BYU-Idaho differentiated communications from Paradigms and Time, by pointing out the differences in interpersonal communication styles in various locations.  For example: If an Asian students laughs at what someone says, it may not mean they are amused. Rather, they might be embarrassed. During the course of the lecture, Prof. Ivers commented on the propensity of Latin Americans to be very careful to not hurt the feelings of others, at the expense of full honesty, since feelings are more important.  Hence, a Latin American person may agree to do something and then never do it - the agreement was so that the other person would know that they cared... In what seems like direct conflict to me, a student from within Iver's class commented that she'd met confrontational Latinas.  Prof. Iver's re-labeled this as passionate. I am trying to work it out in my mind how someone can be careful of fee...

For this assignment, the class studied the cultural differences in the perception of and importance of time. Professor Ivers of BYU-Idaho gave a lecture (circa 2015 ?)  explaining the differences between Polychronic and Monochronic as defined by Edward T. Hall.  In the lecture, Ivers described the USA and a few other countries as Monochronic.  This means the focus is on tasks, schedules and proceedures, not on individual needs or concerns.  If you have an appointment with the Dentist for  3 p.m., you show up at 3p.m. no matter what unexpected difficulties may arise. Being on time is a cultural expectation. In contrast, in Polychronic countries - which are the majority on earth - human relationships, particularly family relationships, are much more important than any schedule.  Interpersonal connections are an important way to get jobs, cut bureaucratic red tape, and are imperative to have  for a successful business. I am one of those Monochronic pe...

This week, our class focus is on various kinds of cultural differences, and the way those differences can be misinterpreted by others.  In a lecture given by Professor Ivers at BYU-Idaho in 2013, it was explained to us that our interpretations of other cultures motivations and actions can be entirely erroneous if we do not understand the other cultures values and habits.  Cultural differences on what might be embarrassing, funny, polite etc., can vary immensely from culture to culture. The caring instructor will make the effort to understand the new students' culture and help them assimilate and understand the local culture. Cultures vary within nations as well as between them.  As a child, it was not the custom in my area to say "Yes, Ma'm" or "No Ma'am" to adults.  When we moved to Texas USA, I was inadvertently disrespectful to my School Teachers because I didn't know this.  On one occasion, I was sent to a different grade level with a message. ...

Well, I have to start with the part of the essay that bugged me. The author quotes Ernest Becker, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for his book, "The Denial of Death". Mr. Becker's book was primarily concerned with how people find meaning in their lives to combat the certainty of death. The quote reads:"...a major mental institution in France virtually emptied itself during the French Revolution as patients found life suddenly imbued with a novel sense of meaning and purpose." I feel obliged to point out that the mental institutions of France - in 1789, during the Revolution- were vastly different than those that exist today; they might more properly be called work houses.  The 'patients' included invalids, those with incurable diseases (leprosy etc.), beggars, political prisoners, the elderly, orphans, juvenile delinquents, criminals, and yes - mentally ill people.  Some of the 'patients' were incarcerated (delinquents, political prison...